Between Friends
by Blaq Don
Summary: Just because two people share similar interest and have undeniable chemistry, doesn't mean they can't just stay friends, right? Even if both find the other incredible attractive and may have a little crush on them, things would get kind of messy and neither of them would want that, right?...Right?
1. Chapter 1

A.N: Hey guys, it's Don. Many of you probably know me from my other (and only) fic, "Fighting the Shame." It's been a long time, but I have finally gotten back into my writing spirit and decided why not give it another shot? Considering it's been so long, I reread my fanfic to get a feel for what I was doing at the time. However, once I actually saw what I wrote previously…I honestly kind of hated it. I've grown so much as a writer, and feel like I can tell a more concrete story. So, what better thing to do than revamp it?!

I really hope you guys like this version of it. And I plan on working on a few more fics in the future, since writing is basically my heart and soul. Let me know what you guys think about certain changes in a review.

Anyway, enjoy!

 ** _Between Friends_**

 _Chapter 1_

Sitting on the rickety and worn out steps of the practically empty boys cabin, Duncan watches as Leshawna is dragged down the 'Dock of Shame' and thrown into the 'Boat of Losers.' Chris' announcement of her elimination during dinner had been so sudden that the poor girl didn't even have time to process it. Finding out that the eliminated cast members were living it up on their own personal island resort was a shock, the remaining campers taking the news not so lightly. But hearing that they had accidentally -stupidly, as Duncan would put it- voted her off the island was priceless. Shaking his head, Duncan catches sight of Gwen's mad dash towards the end of the dock. She makes a grab for Leshawna but is caught and held back by the arms of the massive figure of Chef Hatchet. Glaring intensely at each other, Gwen eventually backs down and turns away towards the retreating ship.

Duncan chuckles softly to himself. The thought that the girl who single handedly took on a psychotic madman with a hook for a hand would still waver under the eyes of Chef seeming hilarious to him. Sighing, he leans back and tilts his head to gaze at the stars twinkling in the clear night sky above. Though he would never admit it out loud, Duncan's thoughts had been plagued with images of Courtney. It seems that outside of their many disagreements and constant bickering, he did sorta kinda like and miss her a bit. Especially after the kiss that they shared; the sparks and sexual tension between them had been crazy. The things they would probably get into once this was all over…

Clearing his head of such inappropriate thoughts, Duncan turns his attention back to the crumpled figure of Gwen, who sits with her legs dangling over the edge of the dock. Taking a quick inhale and exhale, he stands and makes his way over to her. Might as well attempt to cheer up the closest thing he had to a friend on this island. Upon getting closer, Duncan catches her sighing to herself in what can only be acknowledged as defeat.

"You look like you could use someone to talk to," he says, taking a seat beside her.

Gwen turns to him, her dark brown eyes connecting with his teal ones, only to stare back out at sea.

"It's just that, with Leshawna gone, I'm pretty much down to you and Owen as the only support system keeping me from going completely insane on this island. And, no offense to either of you, that's not really comforting to know," she says.

"Hey, I hear you, Sweetheart. I mean, I'm not the best at this whole comforting thing, and I'm damn sure not the sanest one either," Duncan says, emphasizing his point by swirling his finger near his skull in a psychotic gesture.

Gwen giggles, covering her mouth with her hand.

"See, there's a smile!" Duncan exclaims, a small grin on his face.

She playfully shoves him, her laughter dying down back into a semiserious expression. Pulling her legs up and hugging her knees against her chest, Gwen sighs.

"I just really miss home, you know. My friends, my family, Angus and Vampyra…"

"Angus and Vampyra?" Duncan inquires, his eyebrow raised.

"My twin iguanas," she clarifies. "But mostly, I'm tired of all these moronic and unethical challenges. I mean, I can count on both hands how many times we've put ourselves in harm's way and almost died. And that's a problem."

"Well, I can tell you this," Duncan starts, resting his hand on her back and causing her to turn her head in his direction. "Things are a lot better here than they were for me in juvie."

"Really?" Gwen questions with a slight tilt of her head. It reminds Duncan of something a puppy would do, which he found kinda cute and strangely fitting for her.

"Hell yeah! I mean, fighting to keep my rep intact on a weekly basis, eating food even more disgusting than the crap Chef digs up for us," Duncan explains, with a shake of his head. "Trust me, this island ain't got nothing on that."

Gwen seems to consider this for a minute, a yawn suddenly escaping her lips.

"Aw, is the princess tired?" Duncan teases.

Rolling her eyes with a smile, Gwen stands and heads towards the cabins. Duncan instantly follows suit.

"Yeah, I had a pretty long day of doing absolutely nothing," she jokes, before letting out another sigh. "Though I'm not sure how I feel about spending a night alone with Heather."

"You're always welcome to spend the night in the guy's cabin…" Duncan replies, before pausing and regarding her with a serious expression. "You don't snore, do you?"

"Shut up!" Gwen says with a laugh, shoving him for the second time that night.

"Just covering my bases," he says, with a laugh of his own. "But seriously, we have plenty of room. Unless you want to cuddle, in which case I'm totally available."

"Mhm, I bet you are," she responds, rolling her eyes with a smirk of amusement. "Does that line work for you often?"

"I mean, I haven't gotten any complaints so far," Duncan retorts, crossing his arms and propping himself up against the wooden pillar next to him. "Did it work on you?"

Before Gwen could even respond, a loud horn like sound interrupts them, followed very closely by a foul-smelling odor. With sounds of disgust, the two immediately turn their attention to the guy's cabin as Owen opens a window, giving them a sheepish grin.

"Duncan, my man!" he exclaims with a nervous chuckle. "So, I may have overdone it on the beans and weenies we had for dinner. Not a problem, right?"

Duncan stares at him with a deadpan expression, as Gwen erupts in a fit of giggles.

"Think I'll pass on that offer tonight," she says, walking up the stairs to the girl's cabin instead.

Opening the door, she turns back to him and smiles.

"Good night, Duncan. And thanks for the chat," Gwen says, before finally heading inside.

"…Good night, Gwen." Duncan mumbles to himself, before letting out a sigh. The sound of yet another fart causes him to glare at the guy's cabin over his shoulder.

"Come on, man!"

~ BF ~

The morning sun creeps through the cheap and poorly assembled blinds of the girl's cabin, casting a golden glow over Gwen's face and instantly disrupting her sleep. With a yawn, she stretches her arms out and sits upright. Blinking a few times to let her eyes adjust to the light around her, she smiles peacefully to herself. After her talk with the resident bad boy the previous night, Gwen found herself in a strange state of tranquility. For the first time since she stepped foot on this godforsaken island, she had gotten a full night's sleep and felt completely at ease. Well, as "at ease" as one could be knowing that they have another set of possibly – definitely - life-threatening challenges coming up.

Tossing her covers to the side, Gwen stands and makes her way over to one of the few dressers in the room. Passing by Heather, who sleeps completely unsuspecting with both a sleeping mask and ear plugs blocking her from the sights and sounds of the outside world, Gwen stops. A mischievous smirk dawns on her face as she mentally decides not to pass up a perfect opportunity for some well-deserved payback. Grabbing her toiletries and clothing for the day, she proceeds to shut the curtains and lay out a few "obstacles" for Heather to find when she awakens, before leaving and heading to the communal bathroom.

Opening the door, she is immediately hit by a gust of warm air and the scent of Irish Spring body wash. That, mixed with the black t-shirt and green shorts she sees hanging off the side of the stall, alerts Gwen that Duncan had also woken up early. Remembering last night, she smiles as she steps into her own stall and starts the shower.

"Owen, is that you?" Duncan questions, hearing the sudden addition of running water.

"Guess again, buddy boy," she responds, smirking to herself.

"Oh, well good morning, Sunshine!" Duncan exclaims, a smile evident in his voice. "You know, there's enough room in this shower for two. I know how you tree huggers are about wastefulness and whatnot."

"Mhm, I don't think your 'girlfriend' would like that very much," Gwen says, running her hair under the water.

"Who? Princess?" Duncan inquires, with a scoff. "I'd hardly call her my girlfriend."

"If you say so," Gwen teases, in a sing song voice. "With the way you two go at it, you'd think you guys were a married couple."

"Oh, like you and Trent aren't in the running for most cliché couple in all of summer camp history?" Duncan retorts.

"Most cliché?" Gwen questions, an eyebrow raised though it went unseen. "I hardly think Trent and I classify under that category. Lindsay and Tyler on the other hand…"

Duncan laughs. "A laid back, motorcycle loving, pretty boy guitarist falling for the reserved yet hot, angsty punk rock goth chick," he teases back. "You guys are a quick step away from being the main protagonists in a John Green novel."

"This coming from the punk rock bad boy with the heart of gold," Gwen fires back.

After receiving no immediate response, Gwen smiles in self-satisfaction.

"Game, set, match."

"Alright, Sweetheart, you win this round," Duncan responds, with a small chuckle. "I see that someone is in a better mood than before."

"Way better, actually," she answers. "I just might be able to get through these last few days of torture after all."

"Glad to hear you're so eager to lose, because I'm definitely taking home that hundred thousand," Duncan boasts, turning off the shower and wrapping the towel around his waist.

"And I'm glad to know that you're still underestimating me," she responds, turning off her own shower in the process. "It'll make my victory that much more satisfying."

"Whatever you say, Sweethe—" Duncan begins, as both step out of their stalls simultaneously. His words trailing off at the sight before him.

Duncan stands speechless, his eyes subconsciously scanning up and down the towel covered figure of the girl in front of him. Though it's not like he hadn't seen Gwen in the bare minimum before, the amount of water-based challenges mixed with the number of guys versus girls prank wars leading to many interesting encounters, something about this situation felt different. Maybe it was the steaminess of the room, or the way the towel hugged her frame, showcasing her curves. Or maybe it was the fact that they were alone in such an intimate setting. All Duncan knows is that he is suddenly very much aware of just how attractive Gwen actually is.

"Uh, hello...earth to Duncan," Gwen says, crossing her arms over her chest. "You okay there?"

"Huh, what? Oh…um, yeah…" Duncan stammers, shaking his head. He rubs at the back of his neck, a sheepish expression dawning his face. "Yeah, I'm good. I just…uh… got a little…distracted."

Gwen's eyebrow raises in curiosity, her eyes follow his line of vision and trail southwards before widening in realization. She glances back over at him, immediately noticing how he fidgets as if he were trying to…oh my god, was he!? Her cheeks turn bright red at the thought of Duncan checking her out in their current predicament.

"O-oh, um…" she says, finding herself at a loss for words as well.

The two of them stare at each other for a few more seconds, before grabbing their clothing and rushing back into their respective stalls to change.

Duncan finishes dressing first, and exits his stall just as quickly as he went in. "So…I'll see you at the mess hall," he says, swinging open the door. "Cool?"

"Yeah…sure," Gwen calls out, waiting until she heard the door close to exit her own stall.

She stares at herself in the mirror, taking in a deep breath and exhaling to calm herself down. Stepping out of the bathroom, she hears a loud commotion come from the girl's cabin, followed closely by a shriek of utter terror.

"Gwen!"

Smiling in satisfaction, Gwen laughs as she makes her way to the dining hall.

~ BF ~


	2. Chapter 2

_**Between Friends**_

 _Chapter 2_

After a somewhat awkward breakfast with Gwen, subsided only by Heather's hilarious attempt to pursue Gwen around the island with a slight limp gained from some "unfortune accident" that occurred earlier that morning, Duncan finds himself venturing deep into the forest. Having decided that Leshawna's elimination would suffice for the time being, Chris allowed the remaining campers a week of rest and relaxation. Though this came across as a bit out of character for the sadistic host, who were they to pass up such a rare opportunity.

Duncan walks slowly, taking in his surroundings with casual interest. Even with all of the challenges they've faced around the island, Duncan never really stopped and "smelt the roses" per say. For what it was worth, the place wasn't all that bad. Sure, the animals had to be monitored at almost all times of the day thanks to the cast and crew agitating about half the island's population – seriously, these beasts could hold quite the grudge – and the hidden cameras scattered everywhere made finding privacy very scarce. But hey, it definitely could've been worse.

Continuing his stroll, Duncan stumbles upon the campsite from the outdoor survival challenge. Breaking out into a huge grin, he surveys the area. Memories of that night's events flood his brain as he steps over discarded material left by everyone from, what felt to him like, ages ago. Noticing two sets of bear tracks he laughs, remembering the story he heard of Izzy and Owen's failed 'bear scare" prank. He continues his exploration, until his eyes land on a particular tree a few feet in front of him. Carved into its bark were the initials "DC + CT," followed by a caricature of a skull with heart eyes. Duncan traces the lines with his fingers, before letting out a small sigh.

"You really did like her, didn't you?" Gwen says from behind him, causing him to jump almost a foot in the air.

Duncan turns to find her sitting with her back against a tree stump. A sketch pad in her lap and pencil in hand.

"How long have you-"

"Whole time," she answers, without looking up from her work. "You're lucky I wasn't some deranged madman. Or worse…Chef."

Duncan chuckles. "Hehe, yeah. Lucky me," he says, turning back to his art. A moment of silence passes as he studies it a bit more. "I came out here some time after we shared that kiss. It seems like so long ago that I guess I forgot I even did this…"

"Aw, Dunc! That's so cute!" Gwen teases, a hand over her heart in mock compassion. "Who knew that you were such a romantic?"

Duncan rolls his eyes, walking over to her. "Yeah yeah, I'm a big ol' teddy bear on the ins—" he starts, his words falling short upon getting a glance at the page she was currently working on.

Gwen had drawn a detailed picture of Duncan carving the initials into the tree, with a cloud like formation transforming into the shape of Courtney hovering and looking down from above. The drawing was so incredible that it practically leaves him speechless.

"Wow…" he says upon finally finding his voice. "That's…amazing."

"Eh, it's not that great," Gwen replies, shading in the background. "Since you weren't around, I had to imagine you standing there to get the full image in my head."

Duncan takes the book out of her hands, lightly tracing the lines with his fingers as not to smudge them. "Everything is so thorough and precise. Like a painting in an art museum," he comments.

"Wow, I didn't take you for such an art connoisseur," Gwen says. "And it seems someone has been studying the dictiona—Duncan!"

Duncan runs further into the forest, laughing as he waves Gwen's sketch pad in the air as if it were a won prize. Hiding behind a tree, he flips through a few pages, admiring Gwen's artwork with a curiosity similar to a child's. Smiling at what he saw, he almost misses Gwen sneaking up beside him. She makes a grab for it, but Duncan holds it above his head and out of her reach.

"Duncan! This isn't funny! Give it back!" Gwen exclaims, standing on the tip of her toes to add extra height as she reaches for one of her most sacred possessions.

Duncan smirks, dropping his arm a bit, only to extend it again when Gwen jumps for the object.

"Come on, Sweetheart. You can do better than that," he teases, placing his free hand on her waist to keep her just out of reach.

After a few more failed attempts, Gwen sighs in defeat. Resting her hands against his chest, she glares at him; Duncan's smirk expanding into a small smile.

'You know, she's pretty cute when she pouts like this,' Duncan thinks to himself, relaxing and subconsciously lowering his arm to his side.

Though this would've been the perfect opportunity for her to grab the sketch pad, Gwen finds herself entranced by Duncan's gaze; noticing a sudden softness to his usually piercing teal colored eyes. She goes to place a hand on his cheek, the sudden eruption of thunder above causing her to jump into him instead.

Duncan glances upward, noticing the quickly greying sky for the first time, before feeling a droplet of rain splash onto his forehead. Removing his hand from her side, he wipes the water away, another droplet catching him soon after.

Taking the book from him, Gwen steps away and clears her throat to get his attention. "Guess we should find shelter before it starts to pour out here," she says, turning her back to him in order to hide her blush.

"…Yeah, alright." Duncan responds, rubbing at the back of his neck. Pushing himself off the tree, he walks alongside her. His earlier thoughts regarding Gwen unnerving him just a bit, considering it came completely out of nowhere.

'Not like it wasn't true, though' he thinks, before shaking his head. "Stop that!"

"Stop what?" Gwen questions, looking up at him.

"Uh..." Duncan says, trying to think of a reasonable lie. "Nothing. Hey, so, do you know the way back to the cabins?"

Gwen opens her sketch pad, flipping to a page with a crudely drawn mockup of the surrounding area.

"Yeah, I think we have to –" she starts, before a streak of lightening brightens the sky, followed closely by a loud thunder clap. The rain begins to downpour, a strong gust of wind ripping the pad from her hand and sending it deeper into the forest.

"Shit!" Duncan exclaims, taking off after it with Gwen trailing close behind.

They chase after the book, ducking and dodging between low branches and jumping over small logs. Duncan shields his eyes with his arm, glancing behind him to make sure Gwen is still near. The rain pelts against their skin, practically drenching them to the bone. Duncan jumps and grabs the pad out the air before it can go any further, violently flipping to the page which was now completely unintelligible.

"Fuck," he says with a groan, closing the book and stashing it under his shirt to hopefully preserve the remaining pages. "What do we do now?"

"W-we should probably find some kind of s-shelter. I'm pretty sure there's a cave around here somewhere," Gwen states, hugging herself and shivering a bit.

Duncan nods, choosing a random direction to head in. They walk for a while, their shoes squelching in the mud. Duncan glances out the corner of his eyes at the still shivering figure beside him, deciding to throw his arm around her shoulder and pull her against him to share warmth. She thanks him, snuggling into his side a bit, before pointing out an opening up ahead.

Running into the small cave, Duncan immediately gets to work starting a fire. Ruffling some leaves and twigs together, he grabs his lighter out of his back pocket and, after a few attempts, sets it ablaze.

"Yeah, there we go!" he exclaims, pumping his fist in the air. Turning to face Gwen, he pauses when he catches her taking off her top.

She walks over to him, laying her shirt down on a rock a few feet from the flames, and crossing her arms over her chest.

"…What?" she inquires, with a shrug. "Pneumonia is still a thing, and I'm not trying to die on national television."

"Fair point," Duncan says, before peeling off his own shirt and setting it by hers.

The two of them sit beside each other, watching the rain continue through the mouth of the cave. An awkward silence fills the air, brought on by the proximity of their half naked bodies to each other, and the events that had occurred barely a few minutes prior. Both ignorant of the other's nervousness, they both desperately search for something to say to break the tension.

Gwen speaks first. "So…" she starts, staring down at the fire in front of them. "What made you sign up for this show anyway?"

Duncan glances over at her quickly, not expecting the question, before sighing and leaning back against the wall.

"When you come from a long line of policemen, being the "bad seed" of the family can sure take its toll on you," he says, crossing his arms. "Not only does being here keep me out of juvie, but actually winning this thing might make my family see me as more than just the 'screw-up," you know?"

"Aww Duncan, I didn't take you for such a softie," Gwen teases, making googly eyes at him. She giggles, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Duncan replies, rolling his eyes with a smirk. He nudges her a bit. "You repeat that to anyone, and there will be extreme consequences. You got that, Sweetheart?"

"Mhm, sure," Gwen says, smiling at him. "Mr. Badass."

"Well, what about you? What made a social rebel like you enter such a heavily televised competition such as this?" Duncan asks.

"Believe it or not, my mom thought this was would be a good experience for me," Gwen says, also leaning back against the wall.

"Wait, seriously?!" Duncan exclaims, looking over at her. "Your own mom set this up for you?! No way!"

"Yup. She mailed in my application before I had a chance to protest, and made me do the audition tape afterwards," Gwen explains, shaking her head. "Said it would be good for me to get out the house and make some new friends."

"Your mom is awesome," Duncan jokes, resulting in a punch to the arm. He laughs, before noticing the discarded sketch pad off to the side of them. "Oh yeah, here."

Gwen thanks him for the object, before opening it and inspecting the damage for herself. "Luckily, it seems like only a few sheets got wet. So, I didn't lose much," she discerns, flipping through the pages.

"That's good," Duncan replies, shifting closer to her. "How come you didn't tell anyone you could draw?"

Gwen glances up at him, noticing their close proximity to each other instantly. Blushing a bit, she turns her eyes back to the book in her hands.

"It's not something I share willingly with others. I don't really think I'm that good at it. Plus, after that whole thing with Heather stealing my journal earlier…" she states.

Duncan nods. "I get it. But not that good?' Gwen, these are fucking amazing!" he says, pointing down at a picture she drew of Bridgette sitting in the mess hall mid laugh. The details were so strong that one would confuse it with an actual photograph. "The lines, the shadows casting on the wall, you captured all of it so perfectly!"

Gwen smiles brightly, not used to this much praise for her artwork but accepting it nonetheless. She shuffles through a few more of her creations, with Duncan's commentary on what he likes about each piece she passes. When a particular one catches his attention, she stops to explain the thought processes that led to its creation. As she speaks, Duncan sneaks a few glances at Gwen herself. This slight warmth filling his chest every time she laughs or he notices her head tilting in that puppy dog expression he remembers from the other day. He isn't exactly sure what was happening within him, but that doesn't mean he's protesting it either.

Hours seem to pass by before Duncan realizes that the rain has stopped, the sunset visible through the mouth of the cave. He stands, strolling over and peeking his head out to survey the damage. Finding it relatively clear, Duncan smiles.

"Hey Gwen, I think it's safe for us to move now…" he says, making his way back over to her. "There's a few trees scattered here and there, but we should be fi—"

Gwen lays asleep, her head craned awkwardly against the wall behind her. Duncan smirks, plopping down beside her and tilting her head to rest on his shoulder instead. A small smile graces her face, as he cuddles into him a bit before dozing off once again.

'Guess a short nap wouldn't hurt us,' he thinks to himself, a small yawn escaping his mouth. He closes his eyes, settling against the cave wall once again, before drifting off into his own peaceful slumber.

~ BF ~

Unbeknownst to the two sleeping teens, a vengeful Heather had been searching around the island for Gwen since she'd escaped her grasp that morning during breakfast. Finding her nowhere around the camping grounds, Heather reluctantly ventures into the dense forest, climbing over broken logs and tripping over leaves and twigs.

"Ugh, wait until I get my hands on that sneaky little…" Heather mumbles aloud, shoving a branch from in front of her, only for it to swing back and whip her in the face. "Ow! Oh! I freaking hate it here!" she exclaims, her words slightly muffled as she rubs at her sore and, surely, swollen nose.

"With these stupid cameramen, and these ridiculous challenges, and these savages! Don't even get me started on the wild animals. And—"

Heather's one-woman rant comes to a screeching halt as she passes in front of the cave, doing a quick double take at the sight before her. She stares at the two of them for a moment, her mind working quickly to formulate a perfect revenge plan out of this scenario, before a devious smile spreads across her face. Taking out the small digital camera she conveniently stashed in her pocket for just such an occasion, Heather snaps a few photos of the pair and rushes back in the direction of the cabins. Searching around frantically, her eyes land on the figures of Chris and the camera crew standing by the mess hall.

"Alright, so next week I'm thinking we do another survival themed challenge. But this time, I wanna really mess with them. So, I bought this weather machine off the black market and I hired a bunch of—"

"Oh, Chris!"

At the sing song call of his name, Chris McLean turns to face the unusually perky teen as she uncharacteristically skips towards him. Though that would've been taken as an immediate red flag by most who knew her, the mischievous host's interest is, instead, peaked at the thought of what the – as many on the island had and still would refer to her as - dark-haired she-devil could be hiding up her sleeve this time around. And how he could somehow exploit it to improve his ratings.

"Heather. You seem awfully…chipper than usual," he comments, giving her a once over.

Heather smiles. "Oh, I definitely am. I really think these next few weeks are going to be very interesting," she responds, idly messing around with the camera in her hand.

"Oh?" Chris replies, instantly perking up at the implication of possible drama. It was in the name of the show after all, and he had been craving for some fresh material. "And why is that?"

"Nothing much. Just stumbled upon something that might make the game a little bit more…exciting. If used correctly, that is," Heather answers, handing the device over to him.

With a quirked eyebrow, Chris inspects the image on the screen. His eyes widen as he clicks through the collection of pictures, with a devilish grin stretching across his face.

"So, what do you think?" Heather asks, crossing her arms with a smirk of her own.

Chris chuckles.

Sometimes, a little bit of chaos was a good thing.

~ BF ~


End file.
